Linking Literature to Math (March theme) by Claudia Mills
I was a girl who was good at writing. I was a girl who was bad at math. That makes me a typical female main character in a children’s book.
For a delicious, but
cringe-inducing list of clichés in children’s books, check out Joelle Anthony’s list of the 25 “most overused things” in middle grade fiction. “Main character who
wants to write” is on the list as cliché number four. I thought I remembered “Main
character who wants to write and who also hates math,” but apparently I was
wrong there. But think of Anne of Green Gables. Think of Betsy Ray of Maud Hart
Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy books. Other examples are probably popping into your
brain right now.
Not that girls are
alone in hating math. Boys can hate math, too. My single most successful book,
in terms of sales, has been my chapter book 7
x 9 = Trouble!, followed by its sequel, Fractions
= Trouble! Apparently lots of kids
can relate to the story of a third grader who is struggling to master the times
tables and who fears humiliation when his parents hire a tutor to help him with
fractions. The books have become popular classroom read-alouds to sweeten the
pain of arithmetic. While Wilson tussles with math, I provided him with classmate
Laura, who excels in math (and helps teach Wilson that finger trick for
learning the 9-facts) and Josh, who falls in the middle of the math bell curve.
Kids write me saying, “I’m like Laura. I love math,” or “I’m like Josh, I’m
pretty good at math.” And the Wilsons of the world can read the book and know
that they aren’t alone.
But now I decided it
was time to write a book about a girl who unabashedly adores math. Annika Riz, Math Whiz comes out in May, the
follow-up to Kelsey Green, Reading Queen
(Kelsey is another book-loving, math-hating girl, I must confess). Annika lives
in a house with a math-patterned tablecloth; she sleeps between math-patterned
sheets. Her dog is named Prime, for prime number. One of Annika’s goals in the
book is to teach Prime to count; another is to win a Sudoku contest at the
public library. (One ambition meets with considerably more success than the
other). And it’s Annika’s love for math that saves the day during the class
bake sale at the school carnival.
I’m hoping that
teachers will share this one, too, so that girls who love math will say, “Yes!
That’s me!” C. S. Lewis is quoted as saying, “Friendship is born at that moment
when one person says to another, “What? You, too? I thought I was the only one.”
I’m hoping that just as Wilson comforts kids who struggle with math, Annika can
cheer on kids who just happen to love math more than anything in the world.
LOVE Annika already!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Holly!
DeleteHow bout a girl character who loves books AND math? Excited to meet Annika. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteIrene, one of my long-ago books, LIZZIE AT LAST, featured a girl who loved both books and math. This new series is designed to feature different kids with different talents, so each kid just gets one talent - artificial, I know!
DeleteI love how you bust stereotypes, Claudia!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tracy. My students loved your Skype visit so much!
DeleteThis is such a great series -- I'm SO excited to meet Annika! That C.S. Lewis quote is so good -- also applies to those moments when I "meet" *those* books, the ones that just attach themselves to my heart.
ReplyDeleteThese books will be perfect for my classroom!
ReplyDelete